INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

ARRANGING SPACES
The two main gurdwaras in Varanasi hold a complexity of buildings and rooms
which serve different purposes. The older edifice of Nichibagh is a quadrangle surrounded
by a three-storied building with one main entrance and which stores the
inner sanctum on the first floor, rest house (dharamsala) for employees and pilgrims
on the second floor, and the communal kitchen and dining hall on the roof. The sanctuary
consists of a square-shaped hall that has a high ceiling and a semilunar balcony
that can be reached from the second floor. The modern structure of Gurubagh has
two main entrances leading in to a rectangular courtyard with the main hall and a
small garden. Several buildings seal the courtyard: on one side is the three-storied
Guru Nanak Khalsa School fronted by a large playground. Equally high buildings contain
the communal kitchen, halls for public distribution of food, and the hospital with
offices and wards framing another side. A large number of quarters for employees,
pilgrims and visiting performers are scattered within the gurdwara complex. 327 The
gurdwara hall in Gurubagh has been built as a separate rectangular building encircled
by a walkway for circumambulations. The hall has windows and doors on all
four sides and two indoor-balconies along the left and right hand sides. Both gurdwaras
have rooms for storing shoes (juta ghar) close to the main entrances, as well as
washbasins and lower tubs for washing feet before entering the sanctuary. The courtyards
hold whiteboards on which the daily divine order (Hukam) is written, and other
notice boards with information about daily liturgies, auspicious days of the Vikrami
month and festivals according to the Sikh calendar.
A salient feature of the courtyard scene is Nishan Sahib, the triangular shaped
flag printed with the Sikh emblem degh-tegh-fateh (cauldron-sword-victory), popularly
called the khanda sign, which comprises the circular Chakkar and the double-edged
sword surrounded by two daggers and is said to combine the ideal of charity with
that of justice and victory in battles. The Sikh flag flies from the top of a tall steel pole
wrapped in cloth covering (chola) in saffron color and adorned with a large steel sign
of the double-edged sword on top. 328 To all appearance the Nishan Sahib was created
as a military standard in the eighteenth century. Wherever Sikhs establish gurdwaras
today the flag will be one of the first symbols they erect outside the main shrine and
religious premises. Similar to Sikh architecture in other regions, the poles of Nishan
Sahib in Varanasi are supported by ornamental plinths in white marble and thick steel
wires. The pole in Gurubagh Gurdwara is about 33.5 meters high and the one in Nichibagh
32 meters. Although local Sikhs attribute the standard many meanings, it is
often held to represent Sikh sovereignty and the Guru’s proprietorship of the place at
which it stands. Upon visiting the gurdwara it is customarily to bow in front of the
pole and sometimes people decorate the stand with flowers and candles. A granthi
327
Pilgrims may stay in the gurdwara for three days free of charge.
328
Nishan Sahib also refers to the portable standard used in processions. It is interesting to note
that both cloth-relics of the human Gurus and the covering of Nishan Sahib are given the same
name ‒ chola.
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008